Free Deception Point by Dan Brown

forced smiles.
    “Good morning, Mr. President.”
    “Nice to see you, Mr. President.”
    “Good day, sir.”
    As the President made his way toward his office, he sensed whisperings in his wake. There was an insurrection afoot inside the White House. For the past couple of weeks, the disillusionment at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue had been growing to a point where Herney was starting to feel like Captain Bligh—commandinga struggling ship whose crew was preparing for mutiny.
    The President didn’t blame them. His staff had worked grueling hours to support him in the upcoming election, and now, all of a sudden, it seemed the President was fumbling the ball.
    Soon they will understand, Herney told himself. Soon I’ll be the hero again.
    He regretted having to keep his staff in the dark for so long, but secrecy was absolutely critical. And when it came to keeping secrets, the White House was known as the leakiest ship in Washington.
    Herney arrived in the waiting room outside the Oval Office and gave his secretary a cheery wave. “You look nice this morning, Dolores.”
    “You too, sir,” she said, eyeing his casual attire with unveiled disapproval.
    Herney lowered his voice. “I’d like you to organize a meeting for me.”
    “With whom, sir?”
    “The entire White House staff.”
    His secretary glanced up. “Your entire staff, sir? All 145 of them?”
    “Exactly.”
    She looked uneasy. “Okay. Shall I set it up in . . . the Briefing Room?”
    Herney shook his head. “No. Let’s set it up in my office.”
    Now she stared. “You want to see your entire staff inside the Oval Office?”
    “Exactly.”
    “All at once, sir?”
    “Why not? Set it up for four P.M. ”
    The secretary nodded as though humoring a mental patient. “Very well, sir. And the meeting is regarding . . . ?”
    “I have an important announcement to make to the American people tonight. I want my staff to hear it first.”
    A sudden dejected look swept across his secretary’s face, almost as if she had secretly been dreading this moment. She lowered her voice. “Sir, are you pulling out of the race?”
    Herney burst out laughing. “Hell no, Dolores! I’m gearing up to fight!”
    She looked doubtful. The media reports had all been saying President Herney was throwing the election.
    He gave her a reassuring wink. “Dolores, you’ve done a terrific job for me these past few years, and you’ll do a terrific job for me for another four. We’re keeping the White House. I swear it.”
    His secretary looked like she wanted to believe it. “Very well, sir. I’ll alert the staff. Four P.M. ”
    •   •   •
    As Zach Herney entered the Oval Office, he couldn’t help but smile at the image of his entire staff crammed into the deceptively small chamber.
    Although this great office had enjoyed many nicknames over the years—the Loo, Dick’s Den, the Clinton Bedroom—Herney’s favorite was “the Lobster Trap.” It seemed most fitting. Each time a newcomer entered the Oval Office, disorientation set in immediately. The symmetry of the room, the gently curving walls, the discreetly disguised doorways in and out, all gave visitors the dizzying sense they’d been blindfolded and spun around. Often, after a meeting in the Oval Office, a visiting dignitary would stand up, shake hands with the President, and march straight into a storage closet. Depending on how the meeting had gone, Herney would either stop the guest in time or watch in amusement as the visitor embarrassed himself.
    Herney had always believed the most dominating aspect of the Oval Office was the colorful American eagle emblazoned on the room’s oval carpet. The eagle’s left talon clutched an olive branch and his right a bundle of arrows. Few outsiders knew that during times of peace, the eagle faced left—toward the olive branch. But in times of war, the eagle mysteriously faced right—toward the arrows. The mechanism behind this little parlor trick was the